“Black Companies” with Poor Working Conditions

There are two types of companies in Japan, which are determined by the way they work. If a company has a good working environment for its employees, it is called a “white company” using the color white, which has an image of innocence. On the other hand, if a company has a poor working environment, it is called a “black company”, the opposite of white.

What is a “Black company”?

You go to work at 6 a.m., finish work after midnight, sleep for about three hours, and then go back to work. There are no days off, and they go to work every day. On paper, this is in compliance with the Labor Standards Law, which means that you basically don’t get paid for overworking. In other words, the pay is quite low for the hours you work. Basically, in such companies, sexual harassment and power harassment often occur. Most of the time, the overwork causes mental and physical illnesses, and the working environment is quite tough.

“Black company” = dishonest company

Good-standing company is called a “white company”. “Black companies” are often pretending to be “white companies”, and it is difficult to detect them. Soldiers who work for “black companies” do not join them because they want to work. They are forced to work there until they find another job, and then they become accustomed to the crazy working environment.

“Black Company Map”

There is a “Black Company Map” that shows more than 1000 companies that have been prosecuted for violating the Labor Standards Act. ”Black companies” are represented by skulls. Some people have called it the “Black Islands” because of the number of skulls.

“Black Part-time Job”

There must be many people who had part-time jobs when they were students. In Japan, part-time jobs are classified as either “white” or “black”. “Black part-time jobs” are even more vicious because many students are tricked into working there by young people who do not have much knowledge of labor standards. In response to this, there is an organization in Japan called the Blackbeit Union, which was established in August 2014 to help students work in a way that is not threatened by ”black jobs”.

There are many “black companies” in Japan

There is a worldwide image that Japanese people work too hard, and it is true. Long working hours, low wages, overtime work, and death by overwork. This whole situation is caused by “black companies”. We need to strengthen the crackdown on “black companies” and change the Japanese culture of not going against what the boss or the company says.